Time Can Only Tell
by faller02
Summary: When Blendin wins Globnar and wishes Dipper and Mabel's parents never to had met it happens. Ironically, back in 1999 the kids are born on the same day but with no knowledge of each other's existence. Years later at an elementary school the two meet each other and soon become two inseparable pals. When something happens to Dipper's family, the two take off and stumble upon a shack.
1. Prologue

"Get ready, kids. When I get that time wish, you'll wish you were never born! Or rather, you'll wish you were born, because I'm gonna wish you were never born!" Blendin screeched out his words with his high-pitched voice, glaring at the two kids who stood in front of them.

"Dream on! There's two of us!" Dipper shouted back while glaring back as well, his fists clenched as his wrists were trapped in the electric handcuffs.

"AND WE HAVE HAIR!" Mabel shouted as well with her hands on her hips.

"O-Oh yeah? Well I have training!" The time traveler stuttered before snatching a spear and twirling it to show off. What do you think I did in prison all that time?"

"Uh-oh." Mabel gulped.

"Let the Globnar...BEGIN!" A chubby baby with an blue hourglass printed on his forehead shouted from behind a floating crib-like thing.

Lighting is flashed before the scoreboard behind everyone blared and lit up, giving everyone zero points. Blendin, Dipper, and Mabel's handcuffs turned off and fell to the floor, giving them full control of their hands. They all shot glares at each other and Blendin let out a war cry before the games begun. It was all going well. The twins would win and lose and so would Blendin. At some points there were ties and some points either one of the teams were in the lead. At the last game everyone looked beat up and tired. They were at a tie.

"There is only one final challenge for Globnar. An ancient game, thousands of years old, chosen for it's exemplification of pure strategy: The ancient art...of Laser Tag!" Time Baby's voice boomed. A course then appeared and everyone got a vest and gun. "The one who touches the victory orb first will win!"

"Laser tag? Seriously?" The 12 year old boy made a face and rolled his eyes. This was going to be too easy. When Blendin wasn't looking, he gave a signal to his sister to make a run for it when the time traveler was too busy talking.

Instead of Blendin getting to talk, the lights dimmed down and the course lit up to a bright, neon pink. The twin's eyes widened as they looked around. Everything was pitch black, and the fog machine that turned on wasn't a huge help either. Sounds of a horn blaring were heard and footsteps took off in a run. The girl and boy gasped before linking up and running together, shooting their guns rapidly at a search for their rival. They caught nothing but the walls. It came to the point where Mabel split up from Dipper and they both went to race to the yellow glowing orb at the top. Only their breathing was heard, but now only the boy twin's was heard to himself. A couple minutes later a bright flash was seen as well as a horn blaring. 'Mabel got it!' He thought to himself with a grin, knowing at how fast she was. She could definitely beat that guy. The lights turned back on slowly...to reveal Blendin with the time wish floating down in front of him. Uh-oh. His score was up to 999. He won.

Dipper and Mabel gasped and ran up to each other, staring at the time traveler who was laughing and grinning. "I TOLD YOU THAT TRAINING WOULD PAY OFF!" He shouted, pointing at them. "N-Now revenge is mine!"

"Before you use your time wish, tell us; what fate have you decided for the loser?" Time Baby questioned as the crowd stood still in their seats.

"I want their parents n-never to have met!" He shouted, making the crowd let out a gasp.

"Very well then." Time Baby nodded and got ready to snap his fingers. "Any last words, losers?"

Losers...Dipper and Mabel Pines...known as Globnar's losers. They took a deep breath and looked at each other with watery, stinging eyes. This would be the last they'd see eachother. The Mystery Twins would turn into nothing. All the memories they made this summer. Gone. They smiled sadly at one another.

"G-guess this is a goodbye then..." Dipper said quietly while looking at his sister.

"H-hey...i'm sure we'll s-see each other sometime..." She responded back, sniffling and rubbing her eyes.

"R-right...y-yeah..." He took a deep, shaking breath before looking at her. "M-Mystery Twins..?"

She smiled sadly and stuck out her fist. "M-Mystery Twins...for ever and ever."

He stuck out his fist as well and they fistbumped even though their hands were shaking rapidly. They gave one last sibling hug and then let go, letting tears run down their face. They weren't ready to leave one another. They weren't ready to 'die'. They took each other's hands before looking at each other.

"Ready to h-head into the unknown..?" He questioned, gripping her hand tight.

"N-nope..." She took a shaking breath in and gripped his tighter. "..L-let's do it."

"Together."

And with that...the last sound they heard was snapping before a bright, blinding white flash was spread across the whole room.


	2. Chapter 1

On a blazing hot summer day of August 31st, 1999 in the Piedmont Hospital, two loud screams and cries were heard across the hallways, bouncing off walls and echoing through the whole building. Those screams would be the screams of two newborn kids. A girl and a boy, born at the same time and everything. And ironically, the two different parents who had the kids had no idea that it was the same time on same date. They didn't even know each other. Two separate nurses rushed into the room, bringing each parent their own child. Of course both sets of parents were thrilled. One had an oddly weird 'Big Dipper' birthmark plastered on his head, hence his name. He was to be named Dipper. The other one didn't have any weird birthmarks, but she sure was energetic and happy. Always giggling and smiling. Those parents gave her the name Mabel due to her lovable personality. Later on both sets of parents left(at different times) and brought them home.

For several years that's how it went. The two families living apart and not any knowledge that the two kids had been born on the same day. As the two grew older they were looking more similar somehow. Then finally, the day came. The one both had been waiting for. School. The first time when they went to kindergarten, they were both excited and nervous but they found out that it wasn't all so bad. They went on to 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade then 4th grade. This year they had each other in the same classes unlike the years before. They'd seen each other on the playground every once in a while but never actually interacted with one another.

Then it happened. The day Dipper disliked the most. February 14th...Valentines Day. It was his worst holiday for the longest time. Maybe it's because he never got any valentines or just because he wasn't a fan of all the pink. Either way, that dreaded day was today..and there was no escaping it in class today. Dipper sat in his desk, holding his breath as soon as he finished passing out his own valentines. He hoped someone got him something. Someone. Anyone. It didn't matter, he just wanted something. As soon as everyone was in their seats, the teacher allowed everyone to look at what they got. Everyone grinned and stuck their hands into their paper bags, the sound of rustling paper heard all around the room. Dipper, excited and hopeful, dug into his bag with a grin, hoping to find millions, if not ONE valentine in his bag...but...the only thing he felt was the paper at the bottom. He turned the bag over and upside down and shook it, but the only thing that fell out was a small crumb from something someone probably dropped.

"Oh, hey, haha! Dipper didn't get any! Oh, man, I thought I was the class loser!" A boy with blonde hair and a black t-shirt said with a laugh before turning to everyone in the classroom, already speaking loud enough. "Hey, everyone! Dipstick didn't get any!"

The 9-year-old boy let out a gasp and looked at everyone, who was chanting the same word. "DIPSTICK! DIPSTICK! DIPSTICK!" They said with a laugh, everyone pointing their index finger at him. The kid swallowed the huge lump he had in his throat and let his eyes water, not being able to hold it back. Everyone kept chanting and soon he ran away from his desk towards the door. On the way he knocked over a trashcan with his leg, letting crumpled papers spill all over the floor. His classmates kept chanting and laughing so he ran to the door and slammed it open, stumbling out the door with his elbow covering his face as he let out a small cry.

"Heh, man, what a loser." The blonde haired boy said while elbowing a girl who was wearing pink and had a ponytail in. She had tons of valentines on her desk.

"I...I don't think so." She announced, standing up from her desk. "Maybe he's just misunderstood?"

"Where're you going?" He asked while looking at her as she gathered up some cards on her desk and taped them together.

"Going to give him something." She said promptly and looked at everyone, who were staring at her. She felt everyone's eyes watching her as she knocked on the closet door. She heard a small sniffle. "Hey, can I come in..? I wanted to talk to you." She quietly spoke. It took a moment but the sound of the closet door was heard unlocking. With that, she turned the door knob and walked in, closing the door behind. What she saw was the boy in the corner of the closet with his heads in his knees and quietly sobbing. She let a sympathetic frown cross her face as she walked over and sat beside. "Hey...it's okay...I brought something for you!"

That got his attention. Dipper's top half of his face poked up from his arms as he saw her offer a giant pink heart with small touches of glitter on it. He looked at her confused before sitting up and letting his legs slide down to the ground as he sat up all the way. He gave her one last confused look before letting his hands take ahold of the gigantic piece of craftwork. He stared at it for a moment before quietly speaking. "...H-how...how come you did this for me?"

"Well...I kind of know how it feels to be in that boat you are. And you seem like a nice guy!"

"Well everyone thinks i'm a loser.." He spoke quietly and rubbed his eyes.

"Forget them!" She waved her hand in dismissal. "By the way, name's Mabel!" She stuck out her hand with a grin.

He let out a small smile after staring at her hand and taking it. "I'm Dipper."

"Oooh! That's a cool name!" She grinned again. "What were you named after? My parents said they named me because of my personality and the definition of my name is lovable!"

The boy paused and pushed down his hat a little bit more. "You're going to laugh..."

Mabel looked at him with a small, understanding, comforting smile. "No I won't."

"You...you promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

"...I'm assuming that's a yes." He sighed and bit his lip before taking off his hat and revealing the 'Big Dipper' mark on his forehead. He was biting his lip as if he was assuming something bad was about to happen.

"WOAH! That's SO cool!" Mabel let out a gasp in astonishment with the biggest grin he's seen from her by far.

He was shocked, stunned if you will. "Wait...you really think so..?"

"You bet I do! Who wouldn't want a famous constellation on their forehead! I know I would!"

"Well...if you could take it, I would let you have it, because I don't want it. People just make fun of me for it all the time.." The boy looked down and put his head in his knees again.

She looked over at him. "Hey...Dipper, cheer up! I think it's cool! And i'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks so!"

He looked over, his head rising from his knees again. Then, he gave a small smile and rubbed his eyes one last time. "Thanks, Mabel."

"No problem! Anything for a friend!" She chimed with a grin on her face.

He blinked. "...I'm...we're friends?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Nono! It's perfectly fine!" He replied back with a small smile.

"GREAT!" She grinned and hugged him, making him freeze. As soon as she let go, he let out an awkward cough. "...I feel like we used to hug a lot...even though I don't know you...it's weird.."

"...I guess i'm not the only one then." He paused and put a finger to his chin while thinking. "When's your birthday?"

"August 31st, why?"

"Mine's August 31st too..."

"...Woahh...okay...what year then?"

"1999. You?"

"...Mine's 1999 too!"

"Woah..this is creepy...like creepy-cool." Dipper paused again and looked at her straight in the eye. "..You look kind of like me too."

"I'm not the only one who thinks that now!" She sighed in relief. "I thought I was going crazy because I thought that or something."

"I don't see how it's possible...we're not genetically siblings or relatives...and we just met."

"Say what now?"

"I mean we're not related. But...I guess people can and do look similar to other people sometimes."

"Right!" She smiled and stood up from the concrete floor, offering her hand for her new friend to get up. When he took it, he rose up from the floor with his new and only valentine in his hand.

"Thanks again for this." He made a gesture to the glittery pink heart valentine. "It was really nice of you to even think about me like that."

"It never hurts to help." She gave a smile and opened the door from the closet. They both stepped out and saw everyone's faces. It was an assorted mix of laughing and giggling between rolling eyes and snickers. With only 5 minutes 'til the bell rang for the end of school, everyone was grabbing their bags and backpacks, waiting patiently for time to pass by. When those 5 minutes passed, Mabel ran through crowds to catch up with her new friend. "HEY! Dipper!" She shouted as she saw him walking along the sidewalk.

He turned his head to face her. "Oh, hey Mabel. You walk this way too?"

"Sort've! But I walk alone usually anyways, so having some company will be good for me. Do you usually walk alone too?" He shuffled his feet quietly and nodded. "See? Now we won't be alone anymore!"

Dipper gave a smile and looked at her for a moment. "Hey, how long are you planning on being friends..?"

"I was thinkingggg forever!"

"Forever and ever?"

"AND INFINITY AND BEYOND!"

Her friend giggled. "That would be good."

She smiled back at him. "I think so too."

When they reached a nice-looking neighborhood with a lot of houses and trees that provided shade, he stopped at a white house. "This is my stop. I'll see you tomorrow at school?"

"Yes!"

"Definitely?"

"ABSOLUTELY!" Mabel grinned and they both laughed.

"See ya then, Mabel." He waved and walked into his house where he was greeted with a hug, like every day. He showed his parents the gigantic heart Mabel had made him when nobody else gave him anything.

Years went on, and the two were still best friends. They went through 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grade together. 4 years of a great friendship with no big arguments whatsoever. His life was all great...until one day just a couple weeks before summer vacation Dipper's father was getting ready to go home, driving in his car..but then a gigantic truck was going too fast and struck the poor innocent man, leaving him dead. Him and his mother were devastated completely. Dipper could hold his tears back sometimes, but other times he would just let it all out because that small lump in his throat turned into a huge lump, causing him to cry. His mom would leave the 12-year-old in charge of the house for a couple hours and she would come back woozy. One day it just got too crazy. She had a huge bottle and wasn't stopping no matter how much her son told her to stop. She kept saying crazy things. Hurtful things. And Dipper couldn't take it anymore. For at least a week or two he had been trying to put up with it but he just couldn't. That was the last straw.

With tears in his eyes, he grabbed his backpack and dumped every school supply on the floor that was inside. He started to stuff supplies he would need into his pack such as clothes, toothbrush, some food, cash and a flashlight. Some extra things he put inside was a pen along with a book to keep him busy when he maybe stopped for rests and his stuffed giraffe he had since he was a little kid. He gave the room he lived in currently a good look. It was full of memories...he didn't want to leave the place, but he had no other choice. If he ever got homesick or he wanted to come back, he had his phone in his pocket. It would be fine. The kid took a deep breath before opening his window and sneaking out of it, dropping into a bush down below with a 'oof'. Taking one last look at his old house, he rubbed his eyes and ran down the street as fast as his noodle legs could carry him.

The only sounds he could hear was the sound of his shoes stomping across the concrete and his heavy breathing. Tears dropped and flew as he ran as fast as he could. His first stop would be Mabel's house. When he reached the familiar house, he snuck around the back and ran over to Mabel's window to her bedroom, throwing something at the side of her house to get her attention. No less than a minute later did her head poke out...and boy, was she surprised to see Dipper standing there with his backpack on.

"Dipper...?" She rubbed her eyes a bit. Well, it was 10PM. "What're you doing out here so late..?"

"I'm...running away from home..." He replied quietly.

"WHAT?! Why?!"

"Why? Are you kidding me?" He frowned before looking around and shaking his head. "Look, nevermind. I just need to know something."

"What is it?"

"Are you coming with me?"

She stood there in shock, her eyes wide. "That's...this is a huge commitment..."

"If you don't want to, i'll just go on my own. It's fine."

"Nono!" She replied back, biting her lip and looking around. "I-i'll go with you. Just let me grab my stuff first." And with that, she stuck her head back into the window. It took a couple minutes, 10 or 15 before she hopped down from her window with her backpack on her back. "I got sweaters, money, scrapbook, plushies and cellphone chargers." She said with a small smile.

"I got the useful stuff. We'll be good then."

"Useful? What do you mean plushies aren't useful?" She scoffed with a small smile, showing she was playing around. After a moment of silence, she broke it. "..So...why are you running away?"

The preteen took a deep breath in before he started to explain everything while they started off down the sidewalk with Dipper leading the way. It was going to be a long night and next couple days...and from now on the two best friends would be taking on the world.


	3. Chapter 2

"Now you know why I left." He finished his story quietly, his shoes making small 'thumps' against the pavement of the road. It was 11pm and they were up and walking, having left their hometown an hour ago.

"I'm sorry, Dipper..." Mabel said quietly as she walked beside her friend.

"It's fine...not your fault." He slowly responded back, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "I just...I tried to put up with it, Mabel, but I couldn't. If I stayed...she...might've hurt me."

She nodded fast, not wanting that to have happened. "Y-yeah, yeah! I get it. I wouldn't want you getting hurt either."

The boy looked over and gave a small smile. "Thanks for coming along...I...I know it means leaving your family behind...a-and...I feel...I-I feel like it was selfish of me." He spoke now quietly, small hesitation in his voice as he talked. "L-like I took you away from your h-happy family and-and-"

She shushed him with a small frown, seeing him getting carried away. He was stuttering for god's sake. "Dipper, it's okay. I promise. You're my best friend and I wouldn't let you take on this alone."

The 12-year-old looked at her and gave a small smile in return, glad that he had some of that guilt lifted off his shoulders with a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Mabel."

She gave a small smile back. "Hey, it's what friends are for, am I right?"

"You're right, that's for sure."

They continued walking, occasionally seeing car headlights pass by. It took a couple hours before their feet started to ache, as well as their legs. Mabel hadn't eaten since dessert and Dipper...hadn't eaten since school lunch. He refused to tell anyone otherwise even if his stomach was killing him. The pain twisted and turned, making him wince. Who knows what time it was...because he hadn't bothered to look. Mabel was yawning and rubbing her eyes beside him, and even her head tilted towards his shoulders a couple times. Of course, a couple seconds later her head would jerk up and she would mumble an apology, but she still was tired. And not lying, Dipper was tired himself. He'd succeeded in staying up for over 24 hours unintentionally. He rarely got a good night's sleep over 5 or 6 hours. The preteen boy rubbed his eyes and it seemed like his legs were moving themselves like a robot that had nobody controlling them. He groggily blinked his aching, tired eyes and squinted, looking at his watch. It read: '3:03AM'. God, had they been walking on for that long?

Dipper looked around at his surroundings. It was all road and the forest was a bit more longer. He didn't even see a sign for the next town. Then, there was a flash of headlights. Maybe, possibly, this guy could help them out. The boy stood up straight, his back aching like no tomorrow, and he gave a thumbs-up then turned his wrist so it signaled they needed a ride. As the headlights came closer, he expected it to go right past the duo...and it did. He let out a sigh. There went their only chance for-oh wait. The car started to back up and soon a man in his early twenties rolled the window down. Mabel had her eyes shut and her head was on her friend's shoulders by now.

"Gosh, what're you kids doing out this late? And might I add, walking to somewhere. Do you know what time it is?" The man asked, looking concerned as he furrowed his eyebrows.

The preteen boy gave a small nod back. "Yeah...yeah we do know what time it is.." He responded back, fighting back a yawn that wanted to escape his mouth. "Sir, it'd be great if we could get-"

"Get a ride? Not a problem at all, my boy." He read his mind, finishing his sentence for him.

Dipper gave a small, tired sigh of relief, rubbing his eyes. "Thanks, man." Then he let out a yawn.

"Don't mention it." He spoke as he leaned over and pushed open the truck's other door, allowing enough room for the kids to get in. The boy tapped his friend awake as he hopped into the truck. She let out a small yawn and sleepily followed behind. The 12-year-old boy reached over her and slammed the car door shut, leaning back in his spot in the middle of the two people. The truck started to take off and Mabel was already asleep with her head laying on the car door, her hair all frizzed up amongst the window. "So if you don't mind me asking, where are you two headed?"

He let another yawn escape his mouth. "I-We don't really know...how about the next closest town you find?" He suggested.

"Mmm..alright. That'll take a bit since i'm headed up North but will do, kid." He spoke as the 12-year-old nodded, his head bobbing, but it quickly shot back up. He looked like he was planning to stay up. "You gonna sleep? You have bags under your eyes."

"Hm...I guess so..." He gave a slow nod and rubbed his eyes.

"I'll wake you at the next pitstop I make."

The kid gave a small, slow nod. "Thanks...man..." He blinked slowly and then slumped down in the middle seat and closed his aching eyelids.

Dipper sat in the living room on the couch, reading a book while his mother was on the other end of the couch. They both were waiting for the man to return home. The boy stared at the clock, seeing it was 5pm. That was usually the time where he leaves his work, and it only took 10 minutes to get back to the residence of their home. He couldn't wait until he got home so he could talk to him and say how good his day was. His dad to him was his best friend. So they waited.

10 minutes passed.

Then 15.

Then 20.

Then 30.

The preteen looked up from his book to see his mom rushing to the phone after it started to ring. The sound of the phone ringing went through his skull. He saw her nodding..then saying no...then crying. What was going on? He slowly got up and walked over to her after she let the phone go back on it's holder. "Mom..?" He asked quietly, his eyes the slightest worried. "Mom, is everything...okay?"

She looked at him as if it was a joke. Was she okay? No. Was he okay? Who cared. "No." She replied, her throat hurting like she had something stuck in it. "N-no, i'm NOT okay."

"M-mom...please..what happened? I-is dad okay?"

"No...n-no he's NOT!" She shouted back at him, getting him to wince. What had he done wrong?

"M-momma...d-did...did I do something wrong?"

"You did EVERYTHING wrong!" She shouted back. He couldn't understand what he did or if she really meant it, but it still hurt anyhow. He went to open his quivering mouth to speak, but she interrupted him. "You. Get in your room." The boy stared and gave a weird, sad, confused look with wide eyes, like a scared puppy. "NOW!"

With tears about to fall from his eyes, he forced himself to move his shaking legs. He ran to his room down the hall and shut his door, tight and locked. He had a feeling he wasn't going to come out for a long time. He looked at the wooden door and slumped down against it, bringing his knees up to his chest with watery eyes. He closed them and begged for his dad to come home. She hadn't said what was wrong with him...but...h-he had to come home. It took a while of head in the knees, but something, or rather-someone banged on the door, getting him to jerk up with wide eyes. He turned around to see his door shaking.

"DIPPER. OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT!" She shouted, her voice...sounding a bit off.

But by her command, he slowly did so. What he found was his mom standing there, her eyes having this crazed, weird, not-herself look. The 12-year-old stared up at her with wide eyes. "M-mom? You okay..?" He peeked at his watch to find it late at night. 4am.

She hiccuped. "Y'know this is your fault, right?"

"W-what?" He frowned a bit but mostly looked concerned..and frightened.

"I said it's YOUR fault he's gone." She hiccuped again and gave a mix of a pity laugh and a frustrated one. " ."

"M-mom what're you t-talking about?" He questioned, his eyes stinging.

"HE'S DEAD, KID. DEAD."

He let a lump slide down his throat. "M-mom-"

"DON'T TALK TO ME ANYMORE AND YOU CAN FIX YOURSELF DINNER WHILE YOU'RE AT IT."

It was way too late for dinner. She was way too late. What was her problem? He didn't do anything. "M-momma...w-what did I do w-wrong?! I-I can fix it!"

Something inside her snapped. She snarled and lifted up her right hand, and it was headed toward his cheek. A loud slap echoed through the house and so did a scream and cry as his cheek burned.

"Kid! Kid! Wake up!" The man shouted, shaking the sweaty kid awake. Mabel was looking over at him with a worried expression on her face too. He let out a yelp as he jerked up, his eyes shifting around frantically. "You were talking and sweating in your sleep."

"Dipper...you okay?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

The boy gulped and slowly nodded. "I-i'm fine..." He rubbed his cheek.

"Alright...well...we're at a pitstop. Want anything to eat or drink?" The man questioned, getting out of his truck.

Dipper went to say it was okay, but his friend interrupted him. "That would be great !"

The preteen opened his mouth again but the man interrupted him once more, just like Mabel had done a couple seconds ago. "Well then, what're we waiting for?" He gestured for the small ones to follow him, and that's what they did. Well, more like the boy had to run after his friend.

When they entered the little mini-market, shelves were full of chips and candy all different varieties and sizes. Different colors and flavors all to be seen. The 12-year-old girl let out a gasp and grin as she ran to the whole isle of candies that showed many colors and letters on the wrappers. "Dipper! Dipper! Look at all these candies!" She said with a gasp and grin as she picked up chocolates and sours.

"Mabel, you see these in the store like...all the time." He pointed out while looking at some of the sweet treats himself.

"I KNOW! But not this many! All in the same isle-" She gasped. "GUMMY KOALAS!" She shouted and ran over to the package that was hanging on the rack. She immediately snatched up a bag and hugged it tight, then started to talk dramatically. "Oh, my sweet koalas!" She put a hand over her forehead. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Her friend rolled his eyes at her behavior and grabbed himself a Pitt Cola from the drinks section. After that he almost had to drag her to the counter at the front where the man was waiting because she kept acting like those Gummy Koalas were her friends and that she said she would buy them all, which, he knew was inaccurate. When the guy put his own snacks on the counter, he gestured for the kids to put their food and drink up, which Mabel did with no hesitation. "Well, uh, actually I was planning on paying with my own money...because it seems pretty inconsiderate for me just to let you pay for our things." The boy tried reasoning with him.

"No, no, I insist." He replied back.

He looked at him and gave a slow nod. "I...guess." He slowly said as he put his item on the counter. The cashier took the items and checked them out as the man paid, handing over the cash from his wallet and then handing over the food and drink to the kids, who took it thankfully. After getting gas, they got back on the road. Mabel munched on her Gummy Koalas while Dipper just held his drink in his lap, not really even drinking it. It looked like he was thinking.

He snapped out of his trance when the girl had put a Gummy Koala on his nose when he wasn't looking, and her hand was holding it up. She changed her voice as she made it speak. "Dippperrrr, what're you thinking aboutttt?" The gummy asked as she let out a small giggle.

He let out a small frown as he moved the sweet koala out of the way. "Not now, Mabel." He replied back as he opened up his bottle and took a small sip of his drink.

She looked at him as she ate the Gummy Koala herself then frowned. "Come on, Dippingsauce, what's wrong?"

"Who said anything was wrong?"

"I...I dunno but I know something is wrong...I just can tell. Like how twins have the special sense y'know?"

"But we're not twins."

"I know...and funny you should mention that, because the other day I had a dream we were twins and we had this pig and we were out in the forest with this book or something. We were laughing together...it looked fun. But something happened and I can't remember the rest."

He looked over at her. "That...sounds nice." He concluded as he looked back ahead just in time to see a sign saying the next town was entering sight. Well, the sign at least. "You can let us out here." The boy announced as the truck skidded to a stop on the side of the road.

"You sure you kids'll be okay?" He asked as the preteen boy nodded.

"We'll be fine." He said as he grabbed his bottle and slung his backpack over his shoulders again as he hopped out with his friend.

"Alright...well you two be safe!" He exclaimed with a small smile, honestly hoping the best for these guys as he slammed the door shut and drove off, leaving a puff of smoke.

The kids coughed as some got in their face. Dipper let out a sigh as he fixed his shoulder straps that belonged to his backpack. "Let's go." He said almost right away as they got dropped off. His friend looked at him as he started to walk off.

She let out a small sigh and put on her backpack, keeping her Gummy Koalas out as she followed behind, munching on more as if she had no idea what savoring meant. The clouds above were dark and gray and it was only 6 in the morning. She ran up to him from behind and tugged on his arm. "Hey, Dip?" She looked up at the sky again. "I think it might rain."

He looked up at the sky himself too. "I think you're right..." He concluded as he kept walking.

She got wide-eyed and ran up again. "Doesn't that mean we should stop somewhere?"

"Look, we might be able to beat the rain if we go fast enough, but we can't keep stopping. What if the police and our parent..s are looking for us?"

"I..." She paused and had no idea how to respond to that. "I dunno..."

"Exactly." He said as he kept walking.

The kids kept on walking, looking around as the sign 'Welcome To Gravity Falls' came into sight as well as a waterfall and bridge and then after that, more forest. Mabel swore she thought she felt a small drop of water hit her nose as they walked. She looked up and saw trickles of rain falling down. Soon she wasn't she only one feeling that because it started to outright pour down. The girl ran ahead, insisting that if they ran they wouldn't get as wet, but Dipper knew that wasn't true. That was the total opposite. She kept running so he had no choice but to run after her, getting even more soaked.

"MABEL! MABEL, STOP RUNNING!" He hissed after her as she kept running. Their shoes splished and splashed and squished and squashed as they ran through puddles of water. She grinned and looked like she was having fun as he ran behind her at full speed. She realized this was the only way she was getting him to go fast. "GOSH DANG IT, MABEL!"

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, DORK!" She shouted, turning her head back at him.

He growled at her, speeding up, getting himself more wet. "YOU'RE SO GOING TO GET IT!"

"YOU SOUND LIKE MY PARENTS WHEN I'M IN TROUBLE! MOMMA DIP!"

"SHUT UP!" He shouted at her, annoyed.

She let out a laugh as they kept running through the rain, getting themselves wet. Then they reached town, and everyone watched the kids run in the rain, having no idea where they came from or where they were going. But they speeded right past people and stores, sometimes bumping into people. Like Dipper, who bumped into a blonde-haired prissy looking girl, who almost fell to the floor with her sparkly pink umbrella. "HEY!" She shouted as she stumbled. "WATCH IT!"

He didn't bother to apologize, but Mabel watched the whole thing. She laughed again. "OOOH! DIPPER'S GOT A CRUSH!" She shouted, and everyone could hear.

They faced their attention to the boy who was running with a bright red face. He pulled down his drenched hat even more as he kept running with the 'I am going to kill you' face on to his best friend. She gulped and kept running until they got to a dirt path...that had a huge puddle of mud in front of them. She let out a gasp and tried to skid to a stop, but he ran right into her, shoving themselves both into the mud by accident. They let out a small scream of surprise...and both face planted into the smelly, brown substance with a squash.

Dipper jerked up, making a face as he sat up with the brown mud all over him. He took off his hat that was covered in it from head to toe. That hat was definitely ruined for good. Mabel sat up as well, making a face as she rubbed some of the stuff off with her arm, that was muddy to begin with. He groaned and pulled out his shirt with his hand so it was visible that it was clearly dirty. "Great." He muttered to himself as he stood up, but then slipped and fell once more. Mabel giggled. "I doubt any hotel or restaurant would let two muddy hobos into their establishment now." He huffed angrily.

"Oh, come on, Dipper! We're not muddy hobos! Just the muddy part." She replied as she stood up, trying to wipe some of the mud off.

"And this makes me feel better because...?"

She looked at him. "Okay, so what we're a little muddy?"

"A little?" He gestured to himself. "Does this look a little muddy to you?"

"...Okay, so what if we're a lot muddy?" She rephrased that as she looked around at their surroundings, spotting a shack right in front of them. "Hey!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger to the place. "Why don't we just ask the guy who lives here for help?"

"Oh, sure, let's ask the man or woman who lives in a shabby shack that looks about ready to fall down. It sounds like a completely safe plan!" He replied back with full sarcasm.

"Dipper, come on!" She frowned as her muddy hand grabbed his muddy hand. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"The person yanks us inside, kills us and we go about unknown."

"Don't be such a worrywart!" She rolled her eyes and dragged him along to the front door, knocking on the door with a grin.

A small grumble was heard as well as a groan before some rather loud footsteps started to approach the door. 'This is it.' He thought to himself. 'This is the part where Bigfoot steps out of that door and we get killed. Goodbye world.' He thought to himself again as several locks were heard clicking and the doorknob rattled.

The doorknob turned and twisted before the wooden door opened to reveal a old man in blue striped boxers with a white undershirt on and some sort of strange fez that was half on his head. He had his glasses half on as well, showing he probably just got out from bed. He looked around ahead then looked down to see the muddy kids with water dripping off their hair as well. One was grinning while one looked rather annoyed.

"Look kids, the Mystery Shack isn't open for another couple hours." The man said as he squinted to look at the owl clock that was inside his house on the wall.

Mabel looked like she was resisting the urge to screech at his old man body that was rather disgusting, but she shook it off and showed off her brace-filled grin. "HI! I'm Mabel and this is my grumpy best friend Dipper!" She gave her friend a muddy hug, making the sound of 'squish' sound out. "We were wondering if you could possibly...LET US LIVE WITH YOU!" She shouted out unexpectedly. That wasn't the plan at all.

"WHAT?!" Dipper hissed out at her. "THAT WASN'T THE PLAN!"

"Plan, eh?" The old man said as he scratched his chin. "What is this, some sort of prank? Go home to your parents kids." He said as he was about to shut the door on their faces.

"WAIT!" Mabel shouted loudly, getting his attention again. "DIPPER WILL CLEAN THIS HOUSE FOR FREE!"

"Free?" He stood in front of them again.

"WHAT?!" Dipper shouted at his friend again. "MABEL I-"

"IT'S A DEAL!" It was too late. They shook hands on it. The preteen's mouth dropped. How did he get sucked into this? "Name's Stanford Pines by the way." He announced as he let go of Mabel's hand that he shook.

"You already know ours." The girl grinned.

"Alright look, here's the deal. I won't let you stay longer than one day. I don't need a bunch of kids running around my house."

"OH, THANK YOU !" The girl grinned again and hugged the old man.

"Yeah, don't mention it." He replied as he patted the girl's head. "Seriously, don't." Stan then shoved the girl off him, which took quite the effort. "Alright so tell me this, why are you kids muddy and out and about at what, 7am? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Should be." The boy corrected him with a small frown.

"We um, sorta ran away from home, ." Mabel replied.

"Ran away from home?" He repeated back the last part with a seemingly understanding smirk. It was after that, that he let inside the muddy kids. "Wipe your feet off before you go runnin' around the whole place, and preferably, you won't run around anywhere but the attic, cuz I have customers here." Both kids gave a slow nod and did as told since he was letting them stay for even a day, which Dipper didn't mind because he would rather keep going then stop here. The old man observed their outfits. "Do you kids have anything else to wear?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine-" The preteen boy said as he took off his sopping wet backpack. Perfect. All his sets of clothes were probably wet by now.

Stan let out a laugh. "Plan didn't go the way you wanted it to?" Dipper frowned and went to open his mouth to say something but the man just gestured to a bin inside what looked like a giftshop. "There's a lost and found bin in there. Just find something that fits you two and you should be fine for now. Then go rinse yourselves off...I don't care with what, a hose, shower, whatever, just don't leave tracks everywhere."

The boy rolled his eyes and trudged into the giftshop with his friend, observing the place that has overpriced knick-knacks and made-up glued creatures and t-shirts with sloppily painted question marks on them. Then, he saw the bin with big letters titled 'LOST AND FOUND'. Dipper stuck his hand into the bin and pulled out some gray shorts, orange shirt, socks and a navy blue vest that looked like it was maybe a little too big but would fit for now. Mabel found a purple skirt and socks. She claimed that she could knit herself a sweater, despite that the wool being wet.

After grabbing their outfits, they headed upstairs and switched off taking showers with Mabel going first since showers were a dreaded thing that shouldn't even be invented according to Dipper. He literally hissed and hung onto the wall as Mabel dragged him into the bathroom. After his quick 10-minute shower(it would have been 5, but he had to get all that mud off of him) he got changed into the "new" outfit he had grabbed from the bin. He looked at himself in the mirror. "Huh...not bad. All i'm missing is a hat." He said to himself quietly as he opened the door and walked out. Mabel was in the attic waiting for him, looking through some old boxes he had lying around.

"Hey, Dipper! Look what I found." She took out a old faded picture that had a young looking picture of Stan..and the other half was unable to tell since it was ripped in half.

"Huh...wonder who was in the other half." He muttered as he heard the old man himself yelling from downstairs.

"WELCOME TO A WORLD OF MYSTERY!" His voice boomed through the whole shack. Dipper looked at Mabel before slowly sneaking down the stairs and coming closer to see what he was doing.


	4. Chapter 3

"There were a lot of people in a crowd forming around the old man that had decided to take the two kids inside from the rainy weather. They were all gathered inside the gift shop at first but then they moved to a tacky room with tacky exhibits such as a turkey head over a raccoon body or whatever. Mabel bit her lip and ran after her friend, seeing how if he went down there he would be breaking the rules, which she wasn't very fond of. She didn't exactly like breaking rules and telling lies. That was more of Dipper's thing. But it was too late. He was already walking towards the huge crowd of people that were gathered around Stan. The preteen boy smashed his way through people so he could see properly what was so interesting about whatever fake exhibit he was showing off.

"And here we have a horse! Riding another horse!" The old man's voice boomed and echoed through the room. Everyone _'oohed'_ and _'aahed'_ while the 12 year old rolled his eyes. That seemed pretty stupid to him. Where was the logic in that anyways? He moved onto the next exhibit where it looked like it was a unicorn made out of corn or something. "The corn-i-corn! A unicorn made out of corn!"

Yep. He was spot on alright. Mabel poked her head through the doorway to see her friend in that big huge crowd that was filled with people different sizes of all kinds. She bit her lip as she squished herself through people, squeaking out apologies. She caught ahold of his arm and he flinched, not expecting such action, but when he saw it was Mabel he rolled his eyes and looked at Stan, who was still giving the tour and talking to people, so he took this opportunity to hush-whisper to his friend.

"Mabel, it's not a big deal. All I did was come down here, it's not like he wants to keep us trapped in that attic!" He pointed out with a small frown.

"Yeah, but Dipper!" She whined quietly. "He asked us to stay up there!"

"Aren't you curious about what he does? I mean he lives in a rickety, old shack all by himself with what looks like a phony exhibit museum!"

She paused and looked ahead at the old man who was too busy talking to his customers to catch the two small kids. "Well...I mean I guess.."

"See? It's fine." He assured her. "And I'm not afraid to be caught. It's not like he can do anything to us.."

She slowly nodded and decided to stay downstairs with her brother. Stan moved onto another exhibit and the two best friends followed behind. It wasn't until then he realized the two gremlins were in the crowd. He waved off the tourists to an attraction and kept the two kids behind with his hands on his hips. Mabel bit her lip and Dipper just folded his arms back at him.

"I thought I told you two to stay up in the attic!" He furrowed his eyebrows at both.

"What, are you trying to lock us up there for all eternity?! Because that's what it feels and sounds like!" The boy protests with his arms still folded.

"I'm trying to have you out of the way for the time being! You kids are only staying here for one night, remember? Then after that it's out to the curb and you're on your own."

Dipper kept his arms folded tightly and his fingers gripped tighter on his arms. "Yeah, I know." He muttered quietly then walked off.

Mabel looked as her friend walked off and went upstairs. She bit her lip and gave a look at Stan. Not just any old look...not a look of sorrow, not a look of desperation, but a look of hope. That small look of hope flashed in her eyes before she ran after the boy whom was upstairs currently. The old man gave a long sigh and put his hand on his face and slid it down. These kids weren't his responsibility, now were they? No. And it was their own fault they left home...though there must've been a reason behind it. Nobody would just leave home without a reason. He remembered...he remembered the day his dad kicked him out of his own house onto the concrete sidewalk. All because of the stupid mistake he made at the science fair the night before. If he hadn't have broke that darn machine...he wouldn't have lost his brother...well...not this way at least. He had been fine on his own...and so would they. They looked tough...in a way. He looked at the stairs...right. Not his fault. They'd be fine.

Dipper was up in the attic, stuffing things back into his backpack he'd taken with him. He stuffed several things he had found laying around the attic as well such as a switchblade and some old aluminum water bottle along with some other junk. Mabel walked in and poked her head through the doorway after had opening the door since it was shut. She saw him packing and she got a bit wide-eyed. "Dip..? You...you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine." He mumbled back. **_Not okay._**

"...It's still pretty early...h-he said one night! It's only 1pm! Dipper, we're okay here!" She tried to reason with him.

"He doesn't want me-he doesn't want _us._ "

"He's letting us stay for a day, I would think that's pretty nice...right?"

"A _**day**_. And then we're back out on the road...Mabel what if anyone drags us to **_adoption_**? What if my **_mom_** tries looking for me? What if _**your**_ parents find you and take you away?" He paused in his packing and put his hands over his eyes and shed tears. "I-I don't want anyone to find me, Mabel..."

She got wide-eyed before she rushed over and comforted her best friend into a hug and pats on the back. "H-hey...don't worry...we'll be together through everything. Remember how I said I wasn't going to let you do this alone?" He nodded. "Well, I meant it. So don't worry about stuff like that, silly." She gave a small smile and so did he.

The kid sniffled and rubbed his eyes with the small smile still on his face after they let go. "Y-you're right. Wherever we go, we go together."

"Right." The girl nodded and smiled, showing off her brace-filled mouth like usual.

"KID #2 GET DOWN HERE!" The gruff, old man voice boomed from downstairs. The kids looked at each other rather confused. There was no telling who the heck that was so they both went down and the old guy pointed to Dipper. "I meant him. How'd that screw you two up? Aren't you guys twins or somethin'?"

The two preteens looked at each other as if that was a joke to them. The boy looked at him and shook his head. "What...what made you think that?"

He actually looked surprised. "You two look a lot like each other, y'know? Have you ever noticed that?"

"Well...we have the same birthday and we're the same age!" Mabel said with a smile. "But we never really paid attention to appearance I guess."

"...What times?"

"6:18am." Both said at the same time then froze, looking at one another, shocked. "Wait, what? You never told me-hey!" They kept talking at the same time. "You first-stop copying me!"

Stan stood there, bewildered. They sure as hell looked like twins but they weren't at the same time? They were born at the same time...similar heights...pretty similar faces..honestly he was a bit confused. "You guys _sure_ you aren't twins? You're not pulling my leg..?"

"No! I swear!" Dipper made a face, obviously sort've creeped out by the dates and times and everything. Not in a bad way...just strange.

"This is so cool!" The girl grinned and hugged her friend.

"This is so weird..." He muttered to himself as he let himself be hugged without a choice.

The old man stared at them before shaking his head clear. He called him down here for a reason, and that reason was still waiting and he was going to have him do it. "So, what was it again, Dipper? Yeah, that's it. You promised a clean-up so I expect you to for as long as you're going to be here anyways." He shoved a broom in the 12-year-old's hands. "And you can start with this in the gift shop."

The boy shot a glare at his best friend who gave a sheepish laugh before bolting off into a different room, claiming she had something else she had to do, which was not true because all she had to do was be up in the attic. He groaned as he looked at the broom. "But-"

"No buts except yours working." He responded back. "It's still rainy so I'll be in the museum finishing up these tourists, and when I come back with 'em, the place better be spotless." And with that, he was off. His fancy con-man shoes clicking on the hardwood floor as he walked away. The preteen grumbled and stormed out of the room with his feet weighing him down like a bunch of bricks. He had to trudge to the gift shop. When he got in there the sound of pouring rain was very clear. You could hear drips and drops and it pounding against the roof.

 _Pitter_  
 _Patter_  
 _Drip_  
 _Drop_  
 _ **Pound**_  
 _ **Pound**_

He would've stood there and listened to more, but the sound of a voice he'd yet to hear startled him. When he turned around to see who it was, it was a laid-back looking teenager with red hair, a lumberjack cap, green flannel, jeans and what looked like muddy rain boots. He held the broom with one hand as he stared. "Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to startle you."

He gave a slow nod before straightening up. "It's okay, you-I just didn't see you is all...my fault on my behalf."

She nodded then sat up from her slouching position. "So...mind telling what your name is? I haven't seen you around, and you're not a tourist...well, I'm guessing that anyways from that broom you're holding." She pointed out, her index finger pointing to the wooden object. "I'm Wendy by the way."

"O-oh...well...I don't think it'll matter...Stan'll have us out of his hair by midnight at least..so I don't think my name matters."

She looked at him confused."Where you goin' at midnight?"

He shrugged. "Nowhere...anywhere I guess."

"What, you on the run then?"

"I guess you could put it like that." He muttered.

"From a crime? Going away from home? You've gotta have a reason."

He paused and folded his arms. "I'm...running away from home...well...already have. I've been gone for a couple days."

"How come?" She asked. He stiffened up and kept his mouth shut tight, as if it were locked up and the key were thrown in the bottom of the ocean. He wasn't gonna tell, and he didn't want to. She gave him a look as if asking if it were really that bad before sighing. "It's alright, man, you don't have to say anything."

"T-Thanks..." He replied quietly with a small smile.

She nodded in response and went back to putting her feet on the counter as she did before while he finally started to actually sweep the floor he was told to with a sigh mixed with a groan. It wasn't fun. Who knows how long he went, but he listened to the sound of the rain all day long. Sometime later a crash was heard as a voice shouted out a: "SORRY !" Before sounds of shattered glass was heard being swept up with a dustpan. The boy paused his work and poked his head out the doorway to see who was talking but instead he found himself looking upwards at the grumpy old man who was standing right in front of him.

"Your shift's over down here, now go up in that attic." He spoke, taking the broom back from the kid who gave a frown before walking away-no- _running_ away upstairs.

"Who is that kid, Stan?" The teenager asked as she watched him go up the stairs.

"The kid and his best friend came here earlier this morning claiming they ran away from home, don't know why, but I told them one night and then they were on their own." He said while folding his arms.

"Wait...you're just going to leave them out there in the streets?"

"I wa-I mean, they're not my responsibility. I'm not a babysitter. They have supplies, they'll be fine."

" , are you thinking this through all the way?! Did you ask how old they were? Could you tell? They're just kids! At least take them to an adoption home or _**SOMETHING**_."

"Yeesh, yeesh, calm down." The man gave a sigh before rubbing his temple and walking up the stairs to the attic. The wooden things making all sorts of creaking while he moved as well as his old body. Those darn muscles and bones making creaks and cracks. He huffed and finally made it to the top of the steps where he heard small whispers coming from the door. He paused and put his ear to it.

"Dipper, you've gotta get some sleep." Mabel said, almost begging him to.

"Do you realize what time it is?"/p

"What? 8pm? Yes, I do! We've got plenty of time! Just please...please sleep. We can't be going out all like zombies because we didn't sleep."

" _We?_ You can go ahead."

"I'm not sleeping unless you do."

"There was a silence that lasted a lifetime before a large groan was heard as well as a thump as he hit the hardwood floor. Stan's eyes widened a bit on how dramatic he was being. "There. Happy?"

"Very." She responded back as a much lighter thump was felt as she laid down on the floor.

 _This is it. Just ask how old they were._ The man picked up his fist and knocked at the door. Small little rustles were heard before the preteen boy was the one who opened the door. He looked up at him with the 'what do you want' look and 'oh it's you'. "How old did you guys say you were?"

Mabel poked her head out from behind her best friend as he made a face like they had a plan or something and that wasn't part of it. "12! Going on 13 this August!"

"Mabel!" He hissed out with a frown then face palmed. "Look, at midnight, we leave, just like you want. Now if you'll excuse me- _us_ , we have to get some sleep." And with that he shut the door with a bit of force, but not enough to make it officially slammed shut as in a rude way.

Stanley Pines gave a huff after seeing his reaction upon the question and himself. Worth a shot...but 12 years old...he never gave much thought or reaction on how old the kids were, just the fact they weren't his and they were going to have to leave. He slid his old, rough hand down his face and then started down the stairs again, hearing creaks and cracks in the old staircase. He continued down them and sat in his striped yellow recliner. He had Wendy lock up the place before she left and Soos probably left after fixing whatever it was. As he sat in the recliner, the noise of the rain got harder. Instead of pitter patters and drip drops, it was...

 _ **THUMP**_

 _ **THUMP**_

 _ **THUMP**_

 _ **THUMP**_

God damn it. It had been raining all day, and raining on a business day was not the best thing in the world. That means tourists missed out on tours outside with some of the greatest things! Rock That Looks Like A Face Rock, The Bottomless Pit, and none other than the Outhouse of Mystery. Stan remembered he got stuck in there once...yeah was not fun. He sighed as he watched a old rerun of Ducktective. That show was just one of the best there were on the horrible TV channels they had in the town. At first from the corner of his eyes, he saw a light flashing down the dirt road.

"Heh...probably just some idiot lost." He muttered quietly to himself. Nobody comes to the Mystery Shack this late...and weren't even supposed to be coming here anyways. It was after-hours. But then that light kept getting closer...and closer...and that light was just a headlight. The next thing he saw were flashing red and blue lights with it was well. He knew what it was right away. A police car. There weren't any crimes he had done _recently_ to have them after him! Hell, he was laying off the crimes a bit more than he usually would...what had he done wrong now? Maybe they would go away...maybe they weren't going here.

 _He was wrong._

They went straight for the shack then the next thing he knew those flashing lights were out in front of the shack. Then there were big hands knocking on the doors-scratch that-banging on the doors. With a deep breath, there was nothing he could do but shout for them to go away...which didn't work, so he had to open the door.

"Stanford Pines?" They questioned.

Hah, yep, that's me." **_It's not who I am._**

"We understand you may have seen two children roaming the premises. Names of Dipper Oak and Mabel BlueBell." They pulled out pictures too. No way Stan couldn't know it wasn't them.

 _So that was their names...odd ones too._

"What makes you say so?"

"We tracked down some footprints from earlier that came in the town of Gravity Falls and the whole town knows nothing of these kids, so we suspect you. Plus i'm pretty sure this was the hat he was wearing like his recent picture says." The police dug out a very muddy, dirty hat with a star on it.

"...Nope never seen that thing in my entire life." The conman responded back to them.

"Mind if we come in and have a look?"

He froze and stood firm in his place. "What do you even need these kids for?"

"To return them back to their parents, of course. They have legal custody over them and they're not dead so it's well said that they have authority to these children."

 _They ran away._

 _They don't want to be there._

 _Right?_

"I don't have them. Now get off my property." Stan said with a firm voice, showing he meant business.

"May we come have a look?" They repeated.

"I said . ." He growled out. "Go try that tent down the road."

We find you suspicious, Pines, and don't think we won't be keeping the look-out for you..." They said in their firm, robotic voice with no emotion before they looked at the shack with a glare and sped off in their police car, probably to go check out where ever he said.

Stan slammed the door shut and locked all the many locks that were on there. He went to go back to the living room...but Mabel stopped him in a hug. She was hugging his leg. "THANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

He froze and looked down at her and couldn't help but crack a smile. "I only said it so the kid could sweep the floors."

"Wait...you mean..." She started off and he paused but gave a nod. She let out the biggest grin he's ever seen and she squealed. "DIPPER DID YOU HEAR THAT? WE DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE ANYMORE!"

Said boy was standing on the stair step in the middle with his eyes wide, full of shock. He wasn't speaking but it was told that he was surprised and shocked. Stan then pushed Mabel off his leg. "But only for the summer...once that's over...i'll have to take you to an adoption place." He said as she nodded fast and continued with the thank you's. The old man looked over at the boy...who had watery eyes with his mouth slightly open like he wanted to talk.

"... _Why_..?" He asked while tilting his head slightly, confused with a couple tears making it out of his eyes. "W-why didn't you tell them?"


End file.
